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AP World History Period 2 Flashcards

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8116690960Ahura MazdaIn Zoroastrianism, the good god who rules the world.0
8116690961Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India.1
8116690962AryansIndo-European pastoralists who moved into India about the time of the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization; their role in causing this collapse is still debated by historians.2
8116690963AshokaThe most famous ruler of the Mauryan Empire (r. 268-232 B.C.E.), who converted to Buddhism and tried to rule peacefully and with tolerance.3
8116690964Athenian democracyA radical form of direct democracy in which much of the free male population of Athens had the franchise and officeholders were chosen by lot.4
8116690965Caesar AugustusThe great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar who emerged as sole ruler of the Roman state at the end of an extended period of civil war (r. 31 B.C.E.-14 C.E.).5
8116690966Cyrus (the Great)Founder of the Persian Empire (r. 557-530 B.C.E.); a ruler noted for his conquests, religious tolerance, and political moderation.6
8116690967Darius IGreat king of Persia (r. 522-486 B.C.E.) following the upheavals after Cyrus's death; completed the establishment of the Persian Empire.7
8116690968Greco-Persian WarsTwo major Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 B.C.E. and 480 B.C.E., in which the Persians were defeated on both land and sea.8
8116690969Gupta EmpireAn empire of India (320-550 C.E.).9
8116690970Han dynastyDynasty that ruled China from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E., creating a durable state based on Shihuangdi's state-building achievement.10
8116690971Hellenistic eraThe period from 323 to 30 B.C.E. in which Greek culture spread widely in Eurasia in the kingdoms ruled by Alexander's political successors.11
8116690972HerodotusGreek historian known as the "father of history" (ca. 484-ca. 425 B.C.E.). His Histories enunciated the Greek view of a fundamental divide between East and West, culminating in the Greco-Persian Wars of 490-480 B.C.E.12
8116690973IoniaThe territory of Greek settlements on the coast of Anatolia; the main bone of contention between the Greeks and the Persian Empire.13
8116690974Mandate of HeavenThe ideological underpinning of Chinese emperors, this was the belief that a ruler held authority by command of divine force as long as he ruled morally and benevolently.14
8116690975Mauryan EmpireA major empire (322-185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India.15
8116690976Olympic GamesGreek religious festival and athletic competition in honor of Zeus; founded in 776B.C.E. and celebrated every four years.16
8116690977PatriciansWealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society.17
8116690978Pax RomanaThe "Roman peace," a term typically used to denote the stability and prosperity of the early Roman Empire, especially in the first and second centuries C.E.18
8116690979PersepolisThe capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great.19
8116690980Persian EmpireA major empire that expanded from the Iranian plateau to incorporate the Middle East from Egypt to India; flourished from around 550 to 330 B.C.E.20
8116690981PlebiansPoorer, less privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics.21
8116690982Qin DynastyA short-lived (221-206 B.C.E.) but highly influential Chinese dynasty that succeeded in reuniting China at the end of the Warring States period.22
8116690983Qin ShihuangdiLiterally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly reunited China and established a strong and repressive state.23
8116690984Civil Service ExamHan emperor (r. 141-86 B.C.E.) began this Chinese system establishing an academy to train imperial bureaucrats.24
8116690985XiongnuNomadic peoples to the north of the Great Wall of China who were a frequent threat to the stability of the Chinese state.25
8116690986Yellow Turban RebellionA major Chinese peasant revolt that began in 184 C.E. and helped cause the fall of the Han dynasty.26
8116690987Ban ZhaoA major female Confucian author of Han dynasty China (45-116 C.E.) whose works give insight into the implication of Confucian thinking for women.27
8116690988bhakti movementAn immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.28
8116690989BrahminsThe priestly caste of India.29
8116690990BuddhismThe cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama30
8116690991ConfucianismThe Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order.31
8116690992ConstantineRoman emperor (r. 306-337 C.E.) whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the triumph of Christianity in Europe.32
8116690993DaodejingThe central text of Daoism; translated as The Way and Its Power.33
8116690994DaoismA Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi.34
8116690995Filial pietyThe honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism.35
8116690996Greek rationalismA secularizing system of scientific and philosophic thought that developed in classical Greece in the period 600 to 300 B.C.E.; it emphasized the power of education and human reason to understand the world in nonreligious terms.36
8116690997HinduismA word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions.37
8116690998Jesus of NazarethThe prophet/god of Christianity(ca. 4 B.C.E.-ca. 30 C.E.).38
8116690999YahwehThe monotheistic religion developed by the Hebrews, emphasizing a sole personal god (Yahweh) with concerns for social justice.39
8116691000KarmaIn Hinduism, the determining factor of the level at which the individual is reincarnated, based on purity of action and fulfillment of duty in the prior existence.40
8116691001LaoziA legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism.41
8116691002LegalismA Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments.42
8116691003MokshaIn Hindu belief, liberation from separate existence and union with Brahman.43
8116691004NirvanaThe end goal of Buddhism, in which individual identity is "extinguished" into a state of serenity and great compassion.44
8116691005Saint PaulThe first great popularizer of Christianity (10-65 C.E.).45
8116691006Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism.46
8116691007SocratesThe first great Greek philosopher to turn rationalism toward questions of human existence (469-399 B.C.E.).47
8116691008VedasThe earliest religious texts of India, a collection of ancient poems, hymns, and rituals that were transmitted orally before being written down ca. 600 B.C.E.48
8116691009Warring States PeriodPeriod in China from 403 to 221 B.C.E. that was typified by disorder and political chaos.49
8116691010Yin and YangExpression of the Chinese belief in the unity of opposites.50
8116691011ZoroastrianismPersian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.51
8116691012caste as varna and jatiThe system of social organization in India that has evolved over millennia; it is based on an original division of the populace into four inherited classes, with the addition of thousands of social distinctions based on occupation, which became the main cell of social life in India.52
8116691013dharmaIn Indian belief, performance of the duties appropriate to an individual's caste; good performance will lead to rebirth in a higher caste.53
8116691014karmaIn Indian belief, the force generated by one's behavior in a previous life that decides the level at which an individual will be reborn.54
8116691015scholar-gentry classA term used to describe members of China's landowning families, reflecting their wealth from the land and the privilege that they derived as government officials.55
8116691016UntouchablesAn Indian social class that emerged below the Sudras and whose members performed the most unclean and polluting work.56
8116691017Empress WuThe only female "emperor" in Chinese history (r. 690-705 C.E.); patronized scholarship, worked to elevate the position of women, and provoked a backlash of Confucian misogynist invective.57
8116691018Bantu expansionGradual migration of peoples from their homeland in what is now southern Nigeria and the Cameroons into most of eastern and southern Africa, a process that began around 3000 B.C.E. and continued for several millennia. The agricultural techniques and ironworking technology of thesefarmers gave them an advantage over the gathering and hunting peoples they encountered.58
8116691019ChavinAndean town that was the center of a large Peruvian religious movement from around 900 to 200 B.C.E.59
8116691020Coptic ChristianityThe Egyptian variety of Christianity, distinctive in its belief that Christ has only a single, divine nature.60
8116691021Hopewell CultureNamed from its most important site (in present-day Ohio), this is the most elaborate and widespread of the North American mound building cultures; flourished from 200 B.C.E. to 400 C.E.61
8116691022MayaThe major classical civilization of Mesoamerica; flourished from 250 to 900 C.E.62
8116691023MocheAn important regional civilization of Peru, governed by warrior-priests; flourished from around 100 to 800 C.E.63
8116691024Mound BuildersMembers of any of a number of cultures that developed east of the Mississippi River in what is now the United States and that are distinguished by their large earthen mounds, built during the period 2000 B.C.E.-1250 C.E.64
8116691025NazcaA civilization of southern coastal Peru, the Nazca became famous for their underground irrigation channels and their gigantic and mysterious lines in the desert in the form of monkeys, birds, spiders, and other designs.65
8116691026TeotihuacánThe largest city of pre-Columbian America, with a population between 100,000 and 200,000; seemingly built to a plan in the Valley of Mexico, flourished between 300 and 600 C.E., during which time it governed or influenced much of the surrounding region. The name is an Aztec term meaning "city of the gods."66
8116691027TikalMajor Maya city, with a population of perhaps 50,000 people.67

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